April 12, 2012

Advice for Law Students Who Wants to Start Practice Directly In Supreme Court?



This is actually a poem to advice law students who want to start practice directly in Supreme Court. This poem was composed by me. This poem is in form of a dialogue between two lama on how such a law student can obtain skills for arguing in Supreme Court.


In the mountain of Tibet

Younger Lama asked
a purely hypothetical question,

“Assume for a moment
That a fresh law graduate
Decides to start practice in Supreme Court!

He has no knowledge
Of Trial Court or High Court practice

He joins office of a Senior Advocate
Who hardly gets any time to teach

Now and then, Junior Advocate gets chance
To learn to ask for pass overs, keep backs and adjournments

Occasionally, he gets chance to argue and shine up
In a matter where there are no hopes
And he gets depressed by losing it

He sits in court and listens to other matters
But since he has no access to any casepaper books,
He is unable to understand
Context in which these arguments are being made

He learns mainly by
Hanging around in Supreme Court!

Is there a better way by which he can learn?”
Younger Lama asked

----------

Since the question was purely hypothetical,
Elder Lama gave a hypothetical answer,

“Assume for a moment
That in Supreme Court,
There is a library of Upcoming Appeals
Which are coming up for final hearings

The junior advocate will go in this library,
He will sign in a register, indicating
Upcoming appeal which he wants to study

Librarian will give him extra paper book of this appeal
On condition that he will be free to make pencil notes,

But he will not copy anything from paper book,
Nor will he take paper book out of the library room.

The junior advocate will study the case,
Will make his pencil notes and
Will return the paper book to librarian

He will then get an opportunity
To research on the upcoming case
And he will also get chance to listen and to see
How the case is actually argued in court.

In this way he can learn faster.”
Elder Lama replied.



Haresh Raichura



Ps. In US Supreme Court, there may be such a library.  Because, this description of library is found in novel “Pelican Brief” by John Grisham